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December
A year lost
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Stock loan under fire
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?Extension strategies are being touted as the next frontier for securities finance. Will these strategies change the industry? And who will benefit most from 130/30 – custodians, prime brokers or both. Craig MacDonald reports.
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As commodities continue to soar, Marek Sanders looks at how long hedge funds and emerging markets will carry the markets, and speaks to one hedge fund manager playing the old school physical trading game to gain an edge.
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In the financial market turmoil stirred up by the subprime crisis and dragged out by uncertainty and periodic waves of credit downgrades, an environment has been created that securities finance players can actually enjoy and profit from. Marek Sanders takes a look at what's happening to the industry.
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Leaving the past behind
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?It is not often this reporter interviews an ex-Russian space engineer who has crossed over to finance. Craig MacDonald speaks to Eddie Astanin about his former career, his work now at the National Depository Centre of Russia and why he is pushing for the Russian market to adopt a securities lending model.
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?The hottest emerging market right now is Brazil and interest from the international community off the back of this has propelled the Latin American region back into the spotlight. Marek Sanders chairs a debate in New York on the opportunities this boom or bust region has to offer.
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November
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October
From its beginnings in Depression-hit California in 1930, the California Public Employees Retirement System fund has developed into a financial powerhouse. While performing its main function securing the retirement and health benefits of 1.5 million people, it also pursues an activist agenda and leads the way on asset allocation innovation, writes James Norris
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September
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As Islamic finance blooms in the oil-rich gulf, Marek Sanders investigates how the Sukuk bond is carving a path to a developed and liquid secondary market, and the opportunities arising for securities finance.
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A baby boom in hedge funds
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?The Equity Lending Survey has become the cornerstone of isf's autumn issue. Within this survey another cornerstone has emerged over the years - the Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs supremacy at the top of the rankings. But this duopoly has ended. Craig MacDonald reports.
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The unedited rankings of both borrowers and lenders
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The National Pension Service of South Korea is making a real push to diversify its portfolios. With the help of recent market legislation, the fourth biggest pension fund in the world is looking to go more global. Craig MacDonald reports.
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The most striking feature of the subprime crisis is how the failure by cash-strapped house buyers in California to meet their mortgage payments could have had such far-reaching consequences. James Norris reports.
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Never have pipes and networks been so interesting to the investment management industry. Caroline Allen listens to Mike Clark, head of JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services describe a sector, which after sustained and careful investment, is challenging asset management as the top revenue earner for the parent bank.
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Multinational companies employing staff in different countries have always wanted to centralise pension arrangements to maximise efficiency and improve the performance of invested assets. Now, as James Norris reports, a system has been set up in Belgium that meets their specific needs
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Fred Francis is bowing out of RBC Dexia after 27 years with the company. In that time the fund services industry and the many sectors he has worked in have changed out of all recognition. He talks to Caroline Allen about his formative experiences, and the shape of things to come.
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When ING swooped for Santander's Latin American pension business in July, it appeared to be a huge vote of confidence in the Latin pension markets. After all, ING is one of Asia's top pension managers, and has a reputation for canny, strategic purchases. But Hugh Collins found a more complex driver to the deal.
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In the present credit market turmoil, asset-backed securities – and structured products in general - have come in for plenty of unfavourable comment. But Gareth Quantrill says the innovative products themselves are not the problem. In fact they remain a useful tool for institutional investors.
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July
Asset servicing companies with longstanding expertise in supporting private equity investments are experiencing boom times. Caroline Allen reports.
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When Citigroup swooped in to rescue US asset servicing firm Bisys, the market was a bit baffled. But already even rivals admit it was a clever move. Caroline Allen asks how the deal changes the dynamics of the sector.
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The global fund management industry likes to attribute the success of the last 15 years to its own talent and business skills, but a report from KPMG warns demographics played a significant part, and there are big challenges ahead. Caroline Allen sifts through the findings.
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Australia has a thriving asset management industry but socially responsible investment has been slow to take hold. Now, as Kristen Paech finds, it is catching up fast
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June
Pension funds are coming round to the idea that the alternatives space is a useful source of alpha, and they are now increasingly happy to make ever larger allocations to investment vehicles that a few years ago they would not even have considered. The Watson Wyatt survey provides a snapshot of the pension fund managers' investment favourites, writes James Norris
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Barclays Global Investors created the first index strategy in 1971, pioneered the first quantitative active equity fund in 1978 and has long dominated the market in index tracking, more recently through its iShares exchange traded fund products. Caroline Allen examines how the firm is now moving to secure the middle ground of the risk spectrum, developing its range of so-called 120/20 or partial shorting 130/30 funds.
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What brand value does history hold for asset managers? Scotland's financial services sector has a proud history but globalisation has proved to be a wake-up call in what
used to be a quiet backwater. Overshadowed by the giant financial market in neighbouring London, Scotland is working hard to take on the best in the global
financial services community, writes James Norris
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As the OECD raises the spectre of a backlash against defined contribution pension plans in the US, the spotlight has turned on the widely-hailed Australian approach. But grass is not necessarily greener down under.
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May
China first approved fund management joint ventures, with a maximum 49% foreign stake, in 2002. The growth by number and assets under management of these ventures has been faster than anyone could have hoped or predicted, but there have been casualties. A report from KPMG, one of a series focusing on China's financial sector, charts the course.
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Asset management firms are enjoying a boom time, as seen by international expansion and the performance of a financial sector fund, finds Nick Fitzpatrick.
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Nick Fitzpatrick gauges the pressure of competition to the quasi-monopoly of European exchanges.
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Some of the most significant investors in private equity are now pension funds with a desire to invest in something other than the traditional mix of bonds, equities and property. William Gilmore, Investment Director, Private Equity, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership explains the trend.
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Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have grown in popularity over recent years and are fast becoming part of the investment mainstream. There are now over 300 ETFs available on a multitude of indices ranging straightforward country index trackers to more exotic offerings offering exposure to leveraged or reverse indices and other asset classes.
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Global Investor's Inaugural Editorial Lunch was held in March at the London Capital Club. Sponsored by RBC Dexia, 12 senior executives were invited to attend and offer their opinions on future challenges of global distribution. The meeting was held under Chatham House rules, whereby discussion is reported but there is no attribution to individuals. Caroline Allen picks out the main issues.
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In the seven years since their introduction into Europe, exchange-traded funds have become an important part of the investment landscape. With an estimated $600 billion assets in ETFs globally in early 2007 being forecast to reach $2 trillion by 2011, ETFs are reaching a critical phase in their development. Brian Bollen chaired a discussion among half a dozen of investment industry experts at the Zurich headquarters of SWX Swiss Exchange and virt-x, to discuss the future of ETFs in Europe.
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As a ratings agency, Fitch's job is to take a close look at the inner workings of asset management firms. But in this Roundtable hosted for Global Investor, Said Rafat, a managing director at Fitch, takes an equally close look at the broader asset management industry and gains an insight from prominent firms into how managers are dealing with change. This is the first of two parts, in which the panel discusses changes to investor expectations and competitive drivers for the industry. The second part of this discussion will be published next month.
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April
Asset management interest in Germany is resurging even though the market is expected to stay heavily invested in fixed income. Nick Fitzpatrick asks what lies behind this interest and the prospects for traditional equity and fixed income funds.
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South African banking and asset management group Investec is making a second foray into the US after an earlier attempt failed. Caroline Allen tracks how the firm went global, and the specialist expertise it is now offering.
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Algorithms are becoming standardised, meaning asset managers will only gain real competitive advantage from unique product. By Nick Fitzpatrick.
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Global Investor is delighted to announce the winners of its 2007 Awards for Investment Excellence. Picked by a panel of independent judges from a shortlist of nominations offered by the industry, the Awards recognise and acclaim consistent outperformance, rigorous investment processes and commitment to transparency and best practise. Congratulations to our winners. The Awards will be presented at our annual dinner on June 28th in London.
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The argument that investment banks face greater conflicts of interest than asset managers that provide transition management, looks increasingly weak in light of the evolution of both these business models, finds Hugo Cox.
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In the 1990s New Zealand decided it had to take measures to tackle funding shortfalls at retirement for its population. It maintains a pay-as-you-go public pension system but has seeded a dedicated fund to help smooth the effects of funding retirement in 20 years time. Caroline Allen sees how it operates.
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Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is rich in investment opportunities, says David Penstone, Global Head of Sales, Relationship Management and Strategy at UniCredit Markets & Investment Banking.
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Aberdeen Asset Management's acquisition of Deutsche's struggling Australian fund management businesses is a bold move. Kristen Paech looks at the implications.
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March
Pension plans will be emptied as retiring baby boomers in the US plough trillions of dollars into retirement products in the next 20 years. By Nick Fitzpatrick
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It could be time for the Irish regulator to relax an aspect of its fund administration rules to stay competitive in the long term, Nick Fitzpatrick finds.
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Accurately calculating the profitability of a fund is critical to any decision to invest with it. Srilalitha Gowrisankaran and Harpreet Arora of Infosys Technologies Limited explain how to achieve it.
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There is no doubting the strengthening demand for
Islamic finance but there are growing calls for some sort
of common understanding on how products are structured and what constitutes Shari'a compliance.
Caroline Allen identifies some of the main arbiters.
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February
ING's acquisition of pension services provider AZL in January represents the firm's latest step towards building a fiduciary asset management business. The fiduciary business model is widening the route to market in Europe, says Nick Fitzpatrick.
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BNP Paribas had its best year ever in 2006, confounding many skeptics. Caroline Allen seeks out the strategies that have propelled the asset management division, especially, to shine.
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If fund managers and sales people find themselves arguing with other departments about who should foot the bill for the chairman's use of a private jet, then it could be time to build a management information system, finds Nick Fitzpatrick.
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Critics of the latest credit derivative, the CPDO, say its triple A rating is fragile. If so, then institutional asset managers might regret buying it. But can anything be done to manage CPDO risk? By Nick Fitzpatrick.